Shades of emotions
by RoseScor90
Summary: Various one shots combined together. J/L, Fred/George humor, R/H, Remus/Tonks, Draco/Astoria, and the latest, Zacharias/Lavender, whose credit goes totally to Jenny! Ingenious pairing! Do review!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters……**

**A/n: So, this story will mainly be a bunch of one-shots put together about different people from the HP Canon. As I'll most probably say in the end author's note, it's for the Crayola Colors Challenge and each chapter will circle around one particular color. If you hadn't already noticed, the color for this chap is blue. Just blue with no specifications. So, there you go!**

Chapter 1: The disquieting shade of blue

She feared the sky. The encompassing blue mass of it seemed to swallow her up. It seemed to her to be a worser stalker than James Potter himself.

The streaks of grey and orange did nothing to erase her fear for it.

To her, the sky will always be unfathomably blue, and inexplicably frightening.

She never told any one this. And now, you'd have been expecting a proclamation of the exception, right?

For, what was a seventeen year old girl's life, if not a weird and jumbled mass of clichés and controversies?

In this specified case though, you needn't travel the length of the earth, or even its depth for that matter, to find the exception.

You only have to stand beside her, or sit as she was if you wanted to be secretive, in the stands, and watch the sky that had just one blemish.

To her, he appeared like a black spot in a piece of pure white paper.

An island amidst the swirling mass of sea.

Defying the laws of nature and screaming out to the world that he wasn't just every body else.

But, to the normal eye, it would seem like just flying.

To the trained eyes of Lily Evans, though, it wasn't just flight. Because she knew. He had told her. That day that they had foolishly thought they could be friends. That flying gave him a sense of belonging some where. Of having a companion. No matter whether it was the scorching sun, or the twinkling moon or the elusive moon. Even the splattering rain or the hindering snow.

In the happiness of having gained a new friend, eleven year old Lily had confessed her own deepest fear to James Potter. Making herself vulnerable.

Though he had never exploited them, she still felt uncomfortable knowing that he'd be the only person who'd understand when she refused to alight a broom, when she refused to go for a walk during the evenings.

As soon as he set foot on the ground, she stood up from her place on the stands. He'd know she had been there any way. James Potter had a way of knowing things about her that baffled her.

_Today has to be the day_

"James"

"Lily?" His voice was surprised, though she knew that he had probably known she had been there for Lord knew how long. The few extra Wronsky feints were proof enough of that.

Courtesy. James Potter was the epitome of it.

"Yes James. We have patrols in an hour. I just came to remind you"

_Another wasted attempt_

"I'll be there Lily. Same time?"

"Same time. Same place"

As she turned to leave, a hand caught her wrist. The hold wasn't tight enough to hurt or even make her stay.

But, it was enough to make her heart stop.

Her face was a mask when she turned around to face him. There were only two other times when he had caught her hand like that.

One had been to tell her that he hated her from the very core of his heart.

Ironically, the other had been to tell her that he was utterly and irretrievably in love with her. And that he'd wait for her even if it took him his entire life time.

And she had reciprocated the feeling. She just had never gotten up the courage to up and do it.

She knew that a mere gesture, even a batting of an eyelash would be answer enough for him, but she postponed, often wondering in the middle of the night, a question many had asked themselves……..Had the Sorting Hat been right in placing me?

But now her heart beat erratically, in anticipation of what he'd say to her. Her face must have betrayed her emotions; her doe shaped eye revealing her anticipation, for his voice was comforting when he called her name.

"Lily?"

"Yes, James?"

"Why do you hate blue?"

"The sky. It's scary"

"May be you just never gave it a chance. May be it is waiting for you to take the first step"

"Why can't the sky do that?" Lily asked, knowing that they had long since moved from the topic of her fear of blue skies.

"May be he is afraid too. Afraid that he won't be good enough for you"

"May be if he tried again, the answer might be different"

She was in his arms now, but she had no recollection of moving towards him.

"Lily, will you go out with me?"

"Yes?"

"You sound doubtful?" James' voice was once more the merry sound that made her day just that much brighter.

"Depends on what you're planning for it. I'm not going to break any rules"

It was as natural as discussing Head Duties. As if they had done this all their lives.

"That takes the fun out of it, but, may be I could convince you later. I think we have rounds to go to?" James changed the subject before she could argue further.

"Could you do me a favor?"

"What is it?"

"Could you….teach me flying?"

"I thought you hated the sky, and flying?"

"I thought I hated you, and look were I am"

"If you're sure"

As they flew in the sky, the blue appeared to her to be, not terrifying, but serene, as if it had done its job and was content with sitting back and watching the results.

And the thought of loving James Potter didn't seem alarming to her any longer. Just natural. As the serene blue sky and the clear blue water of the lake they were flying over.

A/n: Hey there every one! I'm currently writing this one for the Crayola Colors Challenge. This absolutely doesn't mean that I won't be updating my other stories!

Leave a review and tell me what you think!


	2. The gross green potion

**Disclaimer : I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters……**Chapter 2: The gross green potion "What do you think, Forge"

"I think the potions coming along swimmingly, Gred"

And before them was a precariously balanced cauldron and the potion in debate inside it was a very suspicious shade of Caribbean Green.

"Who do you think we should try it on this time, Gred?"

"Who else could be a better candidate than our own dear brother?"

"What are we waiting for then? Let the experimentation begin!"

The two of them exited their room, forgetting in their haste to let the potion simmer, and knocked on the locked door of Percy Weasley.

"What do you two want?"

Percy's voice was cautious and wary.

"Oh, nothing. Mum just asked us to give you this," The two said in accord and Fred showed him the cup of the steaming potion.

"What's this? Poison?"

"No. It's the preventive potion for Spattergoit. It seems that there's an epidemic going around and what with it being your final year and you being Head Boy and all…"

"I don't think that potion will _prevent_ any thing"

"Hey! Don't you trust your own brothers?"

"No. Not you two, at least"

"Oh, Forge! I'm hurt! I'm wounded! Help me from the battlefield!"

George faithfully dragged Fred back into their room.

"What do we do now?"

"Time for plan B or C"

"B or C?"

"Either we mix up the real Spattergoit cure with this one and convince Mum that there's an epidemic or we mix it in his daily goblet of pumpkin juice"

"How about this Fred?"

"What is it George?"

"Plan B and C"

"Ah! I knew you were my twin for a reason!"

An hour later, the two returned to their room, triumphant in their plan.

"Whew! I'm hungry! Plotting the demise of the world takes a lot of energy!"

"What do you say about a midnight snack, Fred?"

"Why of course!"

The next day, when the two twins entered the kitchen of the Burrow, it was getting ready to become a full blown battlefield with Molly Weasley as the Commander and kitchen utensils as her armaments.

"We better take shelter, Gred" George said right before they began darting back in unnoticeably small steps until they were near the door where they proceeded to run out of it, knocking down a still sleepy Harry who had just been coming down.

"Sorry Harry! Lives at stake!"

Harry looked on with bewilderment as a furious Molly burst out of the kitchen, brandishing a rather large spoon, which had appeared innocent while stirring the porridge, which now appeared hazardous in the hand of a livid Molly Weasley.

Though Harry knew 6am in the morning of his holidays was not the time to have an epiphany, he was curiously reminded of the Muggle proverb 'all that glitters is not gold'.

Upon entering the kitchen, he found an amusing site.

Percy was grumpily sitting on the table with his face covered in boils and his hair a shade of Caribbean green that Harry vaguely remembered seeing in one of Fred and George's cauldron.

Ron was beside Percy, or below him, as he was still rolling on the floor in laughter clutching his face, tears streaming down his face.

"What happened?"

"Fred…George…potion…" was all Ron could get out before another burst of laughter.

Realizing that Ron wouldn't be of much use to him now, he turned towards the other occupant of the room, Arthur Weasley, who was calmly reading the newspaper as if oblivious to one of his sons sprouting boils, another sweeping the floor with his jumper, and one, probably two other being brutally attacked my his wife.

"What happened Mr Weasley?"

"Apparently another one of Fred and George's ah! Researches"

"What is it called?" Harry was now intrigued.

"The Spattergoit Potion" Ron, who had now recovered from his laughing fit, answered him.

"That green potion they had been brewing yesterday?"

"Yeah! That one! It was one of their most successful attempts. Or so they said"

"Successful! Those idiots don't know the spelling for it. All this fooling around is going to get the in trouble some day. And where will I be? At the top laughing down at them" Percy was muttering to himself.

"I reckon he gets more like Filch each day" Ron whispered behind his palm to Harry.

"Do you think he'll get a cat?"

"I think Scabbers was enough of a pet for him, I think. Any way, he is Head Boy now. He doesn't have time for childish things like 'taking care of rotten rodents'"

"Oh, god! What happened to Scabbers then?"

"I get to have it, of course" Ron said with obvious pride.

Just then, the back door was blasted open and two figures entered it.

"Safe"

"Until she finds us?"

"Ew! What happened to the two of you?" Ron took a few steps back as did Harry though more discreetly.

"Had to hide inside the lake to escape Mum"

"You're going to get caught any way!"

"Postponement is a gift, did you not know little brother?"

"Fredrick! George!"

"Better get going, Mums to avoid and potions to brew"

As they scuttled past them and left the room, Molly entered the room, the spoon now lost, her hair askew, panting and looking around for the two culprits.

"Did they come here?"

Harry and Ron both shook their heads in the negative and before Percy could contradict, Arthur said, "Leave them be, Molly. It was only a prank. You know them"

"Did you even see the color of that potion? It was a shade of green that I can't even define!"

"Caribbean Green" Percy supplied helpfully.

"What if it had been poisonous?" Molly completed with a flourish.

"The twins aren't that careless Molly, They know their limits and I trust them"

"Whatever. They will be the demise of me one day" Molly sighed and dismissed the matter, to the utmost displeasure of Percy, and began to search the cupboards for another spoon.

Finding one, she began to stir the cauldron, at the same time looking in the shelves for knives.

Only when the potion began frothing did she notice that it wasn't porridge that she was stirring. But it was too late.

As a horrible explosion shook the house followed by a bellow of "Idiots!" Fred said to George, "Seems like our plan C worked"

"So did Plan B"

"To a well planned and executed prank" they toasted as they drank the glass of water they had snatched from the kitchen.

A/n: Here's the second chapter for the challenge! I hope you like it!


	3. Midnight Study

**Disclaimer : I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters……**

A/n: So, here's the post for the color eggplant.

Chapter 3: Midnight study

The merry crackling of the fire and furious turning of pages were the only sounds in the common room when Ronald Weasley entered it late one night.

After the Final battle at Hogwarts, the Golden trio had decided to come back to complete their seventh year. And it had been barely two weeks since school had started.

_And she was already poring over more books than she could count._

Hearing the sound of footsteps behind her, Hermione paused in her study to look at her intruder with irritation.

Seeing that it was just Ron, she drowned back in her book.

He came down and sat beside her on the couch rather forcefully, unseating the book on her lap.

"Ron! I was reading that!" Hermione retorted as she bent down to retrieve her book.

"That's all you have been doing ever since the battle!" Ron hadn't intended it to sound that whiny, but he couldn't take it back now.

"I took a break. For a month, if you had forgotten" Hermione said as she pushed her glasses further up her nose and went back to studying.

"So? That doesn't mean you have to study all the time now!"

"This is our NEWT year Ron. If I don't study, who will you and Harry copy essays off?"

Having nothing to say to that, Ron tried a different path.

"You already know every thing you need to, to pass NEWTs! You were probably ready by our third year!"

"May be, Ron. But, school is not the end of every thing. We have to get into some job after that. Saving the world isn't going to bring you food. And also,…"

Ron, who had about had it with her rants took her by the shoulder and turned her away from the book and towards him.

He took a long look at her bushier than normal hair, which had half come out of the pony tail she had managed to put it in; the pale face which clearly indicated that she hadn't been sleeping; and the red shot eyes which were tired and unfocused.

"You're straining your self. If you go on like this, you'll have to visit the Hospital Wing even before we go there for Harry's post-Quidditch match party"

She smiled at that. That's what they had always called Harry's unfortunate habit of visiting the Infirmary after each Quidditch match.

"I'm not that bad…"

"When was the last time you slept? When did you last eat? Without a book open with you, that is?"

"Uh…"

Sensing that he could win this one, he said, "You won't be arguing with me this way if you look at your self in the mirror now"

"Why?" Hermione asked self-consciously, while she placed a hand on her cheek, as if hoping to find patches of mud on it.

"You're exhausted, 'Moine. You need to rest"

"But what about all these books that I have to read?"

"They'll be here when you wake up tomorrow. Go get some sleep, will you? I shouldn't see those purple bags under your eyes the next time I see you, okay?"

"Eggplant" Hermione muttered low enough for just him to hear.

"What?" Ron asked, baffled.

"They aren't purple, they're eggplant in color" Hermione said and gave him a smile before she picked up the books around her.

Ron helped her with shrinking the books so that they'd fit in her book bag.

"Good night, Ron. And thanks"

"Sure thing, 'Mione" Ron said as he scratched his neck, a clear sign that he was embarrassed.

_May be I should have told him_ Hermione thought as she let her bed hangings close around her bed and lied down _Nah, I'd have freaked him out. Moreover, he was just being a loyal friend._

Yet, it had been Ron, and not Harry, who had come down those stairs, in the middle of the night, to help her.

A/n: Review!


	4. Green Yellow of struggle

**Disclaimer : I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters…**

Chapter 4: The yellow green of struggle

_This happens in Harry's sixth year._

Tonks sat by the whomping willow, twirling a fallen leaf in her hand.

Above her, the willow thrashed about, and yet, she wasn't injured at all. It was a trick she had learnt in her time there.

She kept staring at the green yellow leaf in her hand wondering if the leaf in her hand had had to suffer as much as she had before falling down from the tree.

Laughing at her own stupidity, she threw away the leaf, and lay down on the ground.

There was still an hour for her patrol time to start. Aside from the Ministry protection, Dumbledore had also made sure that at least one Order member stayed in the castle at all times. And since she represented both the Ministry and the Order, she happened to be the only guard when her turn came.

And, just her luck, the person who had patrol before her, happened to be Remus Lupin.

Hearing foot steps behind her, she closed her eyes, pretending to sleep, hoping that who ever the person was would go away.

If she had to meet Harry one more time, she would invariably be reminded of Remus and that wouldn't do. She had to be strong enough to fight him and his idiotic insecurities the next time she met him.

Avoiding people associated with him till then was the only way to that, she had convinced herself.

The foot steps only neared her, and she reluctantly opened her eyes a fraction, only to meet the concerned gaze of the very bane of her existence.

"Sleeping?" he asked as he sat beside her form.

"Was. Until you came" her answer was unusually snappy, and Remus couldn't help but smile at her antics.

"Sorry if I'm intruding your nap. I thought you would like some company"

"You assume too many things Lupin"

"Like?"

"One too many to list. Better not get me in argument mode or you'll regret it"

"You seem to be in an extremely bad mood today, for a person who has just been given a promotion"

"As if that matters! That was only because Amelia Bones was….went missing"

"She didn't go missing"

"I know. She was murdered. And who knows I might be his next and for once, he'd find a willing victim"

"That's rubbish. The Order members will not be targeted so easily"

"But I represent the Ministry, don't I?"

"Would you give up your Auror position for the Order?"

"Of course" the answer was spontaneous.

"And the other way round?"

"Definitely not"

"Then you are an Order member no matter what you say"

"But that won't matter to that guy, will it? All that matters to him will be whether or not I will join him and the answer to that is quite simple. It won't matter if or not I marry a werewolf"

"Nymphadora…."

"What? What is it this time? That I'm too young? That I deserve better? I don't! I caused his death, didn't I? I should have finished her off when I had had the chance! I…"

"You're gripping at straws. Sirius wouldn't have wanted you to blame your self like this. It shouldn't stop you from being happy is what he'd say"

"And he'd be quite happy that _you_ are preventing your self from being happy, right?"

"That's another thing. This doesn't concern Sirius"

"Then don't tell me what Sirius would have wanted! You have no right, you hypocrite!"

Stunned, Remus remained silent, watching as her mousy color hair turned a bright red and then, blue.

"I must be leaving. Your shift is due in a few minutes. You should be hurrying too"

After a few minutes of walk, Remus turned back, to find that Tonks was leaving, her hair back to the dull mousy color.

A/n: Written for Green Yellow!

R&R!


	5. The manatee of endurance

**Disclaimer : I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters…**

Chapter 5: The manatee of endurance

Astoria Greengrass was lying on her bed, reading the latest edition of Witch Weekly, when there was a hoot from the window sill.

She looked around, only to find the most beautiful grey owl at the window sill.

She stood up with a resigned sigh. This wasn't the first time this little beauty had graced her window sill. And, it appeared, this wouldn't be the last time either.

Opening the window, she let in the owl and it flew in and sat on her bed.

Withdrawing the scrawl from its legs, she read the script with mounting irritation and the kind of hatred you show an overly fussy puppy.

Draco Malfoy had to learn to take no for an answer. No one, not even the world's most beautiful owl with the most mesmerizing grey eyes, that was standing before her tilting its head could convince her.

She wrote back an answer, resolutely refusing to accept his offer for a date.

She sent the owl back, and was sad to see such a magnificent creature go.

She plopped down on the bed, contemplating the various other attempts he had made in the past two weeks to ask her out.

When she had first met Draco at one of her friends' parties, she had greeted him formally and had cleared the place, having heard a lot from her sister about his Hogwarts days.

He had sought her out, and she had had no option other than to endure his presence.

But she had to admit, her sister had been exaggerating. He wasn't half as bad as she had made him out to be.

Of course he wasn't completely good either but, who was?

Sure she had to admit that he was haughtier and over confident but, not to the point that it made him conceited. Or may be he had toned it down since the war. Either way, she couldn't deny that she had enjoyed the time with him.

But, that didn't mean she wanted to date him.

Seeing the owl return once again with a scroll, she stood up, determined to send back a howler this time.

Draco landed in his room in the manor, transforming into his human form, and laid down on the bed, the howler in his hand.

It was almost funny. She was in love with him, him in his animagus form, if he was being bothered with specifics. Which he most assuredly was not. Yet, she declined every single invitation of his.

And Draco Malfoy took no for an answer. And changed it to yes.

He sat down by his desk and opened the howler, smirking as her suave voice screamed at him.

He wrote another letter, and prepared to go off into the night again.

A few days later, she was walking by Diagon Alley when she, unfortunately, met Draco.

"Hey Astoria" his greeting was casual as he walked towards her with quick strides.

"Hello" her voice was clipped and her reply short, not having fully recovered the reply she had received to the damned howler.

"Woke on the wrong side of the four-poster?"

"That's none of your concern. I have some where to be. Move"

"Sure. I just wanted to ask you a question"

"What?"

"Will you go out with me?"

"No"

"And I'd like to know why" he now stood before her, hands folded, stance firm.

"I want to spend more time with my blender"

"What in _hell_ is a blender?"

"No idea. Must be some sort of Muggle device"

"Then why did you…you're making fun of me!"

"Nice one, genius. Now, move away"

But, he didn't. He walked the entire length of the street with her, and her answers to his questions kept getting weirder and weirder.

They had now moved past 'The monsters haven't turned blue yet, and I have to eat more dots' to which he had blinked in confusion,

'I have to go for my full body wax appointment' for which he had smirked and had opened his mouth to say some thing perverted, only deterred by her scathing look,

'There's a disturbance in the Force', at which he had asked her if she was, in fact, Loony Lovegood in disguise, which had offended her since Luna had been her good friend, and finally,

"You're ugly, I'm busy, have a nice day"

With that, she had waved to him and apparated out of the alley.

A week later:

Astoria waited by the war memorial, shivering slightly in the chill wind that blew.

_If he stands me up, I'd sure as hell kill him!_ she thought as a few more people passed by her, watching her queerly.

"You idiot!" she shrieked into the night air and was startled to hear a low silky voice ask from behind her, "You were calling some one?"

"Yes, you! Look, I just came here to tell you to stop sending me owls asking me on dates…"

"Okay! But, seeing as this is a war memorial and in respect of the sentiments around it, though I was never one for sentiments, don't you think it'd be in the spirit to be a bit more nonviolent about things?"

"Non violent! You're teaching me about non violence! Shut the hell up! Ugh! I never should have come here in the first place!"

She walked away, only to have some thing take a hold of her shoulder.

"How dare….you? Where did you come from? What…"

Just at that moment, the owl turned into Draco again, and stood before her.

Astoria, it seemed, had lost her voice. Even if she had had it, she wouldn't have known what to say.

A few minutes of tensed silence reigned the place, with Astoria staring at the now human Draco and him, nervously looking at her and the memorial behind her in turns, and wishing he was the statue there rather than a real, live human being that she could hurt. There wasn't even any one about, to testify for his untimely and brutal murder.

He didn't know what had dared him to do such a thing, actually.

He hadn't intended to reveal his secret but it had just sort of….slipped.

But the day was, apparently, full of surprises, it seemed, for, instead of shouting some more at him, she merely flopped down on one of the benches around the memorial, her head in her hands.

"You…you were the owl?" she asked at last, lifting her head and staring at the very orbs that she had thought mesmerizing.

They were captivating, in a devilish, shady sort of way, but enchanting they were. Even in association with such an annoying persona.

"Yeah! I dunno what I was thinking back then but, it seemed perfectly right and so,…You have every right to be angry with me. I'll accept if you won't ever look at my face again but, I just want you to know, you were the only girl I ever sent letters to. You were the only one that made it seem a meaningful thing. I'll miss watching you from the windowsill while you read that tattered copy of 'Pride and Prejudice' that you keep hidden from your parents"

Her face bloomed into a smile at the mention of her favorite muggle novel.

"You won't tell them, will you?"

Draco had thought she was joking, but, seeing her completely somber face, he smiled.

"You have my word"

"What is that worth?"

"Everything"

"So you don't go back on your date offers either?"

"No…What?"

"Well, this day should be marked in history, don't you think? The day Draco Malfoy, king of retorts, was scrambling for words!"

"Of course! The day the ugly manatee owl turned into the prince charming"

"I think I liked you better in your animagus form. You were quieter. And prettier. And you were grey"

"I was never pretty. Animagus, or not. And I was manatee, not grey"

"Sure you were pretty and since when did you bother so much about color shades?"

"I don't"

"Su…re"

That day might not have been marked in wizarding history, but it was the most remarkable day in Draco's life.

The day he took the first step towards falling in love.

A/n: Written for the Crayola colors challenge(Manatee) and the Declining a date challenge!

R&R!


	6. The Break and the Mend

Disclaimer: Not JK…

A/n: Written for the 'Crayola colors challenge'. The color was Royal Purple. This is my first time writing Zacharias and Lavender(except another story that completely sucked) so please do tell me if I made nay errors!

This chapter is credited to Jenny who invented and inspired me to write this pairing!

Chapter 6: The Break and the Mend

She was a princess, in her own right. She was a princess, and he was the pauper who was crazy about her. Seriously, though, who would be stupid enough to _not_ like her? Sure, there was the odd person, Ron Weasley namely, who did not know how precious, how exotic and rare a person she was. Sense and beauty, two things that never kept the same company. Of course, not everyone thought of her as that. To them, she was the giggling, Witch Weekly reading, beauty obsessed Gryffindor. He did not understand what was wrong with that. Could anyone on earth claim that they absolutely did not care about how they looked? That they had never once in their life looked into a mirror and admired themselves? It was common behavior, really, to want to look appealing. But rarely did people have the basic good looks to pull it off, and the vast majority who didn't console themselves by stereotyping the others as brainless and dull.

And the Witch Weekly thing, as far as he was concerned, was grossly overrated. It wasn't as if anyone was accusing and looking down their noses on anyone who read the Which Broomstick, transfiguration Today or heaven forbid, the Quibbler. Witch Weekly was just another magazine like that, so why did people have to make such a fuss about it?

But of course, Lavender Brown was unaware that she had such a secret admirer, because she had her own world of drama and boy troubles to deal with. She'd never notice him and he never could work up the courage to tell her, so he remained in the shadows, watching her when he could, helping her if she needed it. And that was how he found her, lost in one of the dilapidated castle corridors, crying her heart out.

XXXXXXXX

She watched him leave the Great Hall from behind her copy of the latest Witch Weekly. It wasn't usual for her, Lavender Brown, to be discrete. Whatever she did was cast in the limelight, or she did something, anything, to get it there. But this was different, _he_ was different. Not that anyone would notice anything different about him. Afterall, he did not have a scar on his forehead, he wasn't flame haired, wasn't a bushy haired know-it-all. He wasn't even evil. How could someone so mundane, so…_bland_ be popular?

But those facts did not matter to her. She was fascinated by him, for no reason other than that he acted arrogant and conceited. Lavender knew people judged her pretty quickly and condemned her even quicker, but this time, she didn't want that. She wanted her little crush tucked away safely behind the stage of her over dramatic life.

So she remained hidden, behind her wall of shallowness and watched. Watched as he acted haughty and stuck up without ever meaning to; watched as his pride dissolved with the rise of the Dark Lord; watched as he gathered his courage to make the right choice, but ultimately made the wrong one.

When the war was over, so were her charades. Greyback had achieved what no body had been able to. He had ruined her face, her beauty. But with that had gone her shield, her fort from the reality of the world. Reality that came crashing down on her a week later, when she was lying on the hospital bed; _she was all alone_. Lavender did not know why she felt so in the midst of all her classmates who had united in the front of an enemy. They were all one big mass now, but she felt like an insignificant lonely particle, floating away from the big picture, into a void where there was nothing but black. Dark, dark, endlessly dark.

She had run away from the Infirmary, noone had noticed, which only proved her point. Her looks were gone, and so was her usefulness to others as a person. Her eyes clogged with tears, and she stumbled and fell on a random rock jutting outside from the ground. The rock was just like her, a deformity. And like her, would be removed from its place because it belonged no more. A new, better one would replace it. Lavender felt like she had been uprooted from her home, but had nowhere to land. She was floating, not knowing where she was, what was to come off her now.

And on the dreary night in the deserted corridor in the decrepit castle, she wept; for her misfortune, for her life that was now shattered, for her future that now looked bleak and colorless, and for herself, her pathetic, self-serving self, who had thought all would be well.

XXXXXXXX

He shouldn't be here. He was not qualified to be here. This castle was now a place for war heroes, of those brave people who fought in the war; not for cowards like him. But he couldn't stay away, he had to do _something_. He may not be any good at dueling but he did have some proficiency in warding spells and protective enchantments. He had offered to help in the reconstruction of the castle, and Professor McGonagall had agreed. His first destination had been the Infirmary, the only part of the castle that was unblemished, the one place he didn't have to work in.

Looking around, he could see the one face that was missing amongst the rest, the one face that he would have been content to see, the only face that could make fear boil in his stomach like that. He caught hold of a random student, who just so happened to be her best friend, Parvati Patil. He did not even have to ask, before she replied.

"She went off wandering. She was too cooped up so I acted like I didn't notice her. She needs some time alone, but she needs someone beside her more. You know what happened to her…" he nodded impatiently, wanting to run in search of her. Atleast she was safe.

"She's broken, completely. She doesn't show it, but I can see it has affected her far more than she lets on. If you're going to flinch at her scars, I'd advise you not to go near her. She doesn't need that whiplash from _you_." Parvati walked away, leaving him confused and restless. Shaking aside the first and acting on the second, he scoured the length of the castle looking for her, restoring random bits of the castle to their original state in the process.

XXXXXXXX

He found her behind a boulder, leaning on the large rock, making it damp with her tears. She must have been lying here for hours, her blotched face and red rimmed eyes were testimony to her solitary mourning. She did not notice his footsteps until he was too near. Or may be she hadn't been paying attention at all, lost in her own world. The very imaginations that had given her happiness tormenting her with their colorless pictures and hopeless futures. She was leaning on the stone, resting her head on it, and he touched her hand to wake her from the trance. She jolted up as if she had been sleeping. Her eyes narrowed in on his face, and for a moment, he thought her torment receded. But only for a moment, after which she turned her face away from him, casting herself in the dark shadows that seemed to loom all over the castle.

"Lavender? Why are you here?" as if he did not know. But she seemed to relax at the question. Most likely she had been expecting him to recoil at the sight of her. But didn't she know? His affections ran deeper than her skin.

"I wanted to be alone for a bit, away from all the commotion and disorder. You came back?" so she knew, did she? That he had runaway from the school as fast as he could.

"Yeah, I wanted to help with the restoration. We need as many people as we can get, if we are going to get the castle back to its condition." He sat beside her, leaning on the wall which, along with the fallen boulder, had closeted her. She did not face him even then, opting to hide her face in the shade the place offered them. But her eyes followed his every move, no doubt looking for even the slightest sign that he was appalled by her distortion. Finding none, her face cleared up gradually, and he thought she almost looked normal, sans the delighted giggle, but it was a start.

"Why are you here?" her voice was unusually strong and serious, and Zacharias knew she wasn't asking him about his presence at the castle this time.

"I realized that the castle wasn't the only thing that needed to be restored to its original splendor" Lavender chuckled wryly, before she replied.

"You really don't know how to say the right words, do you?" noticing his affronted expression, she waved her hand as if to dismiss the subject.

"What do you plan on doing now?" never one to beat around the bush, she thought. More like he didn't _know_ how to do that.

"Wallow in self pity for a few years before I pick up the remaining pieces of me and try to make something of my life" she smiled at him absently, hiding her pain behind it. He noticed.

"Good idea, if you could skip the wallowing part. There are so many other things you could do in that time" he suggested softly, taking one of her hands in his. He ran a finger around the single long scar that marred the back of her hand, and she flinched.

"It hurts?" he stopped, but his hands still held hers gingerly.

"No, it's just…why are you not cringing away from me?" she cried, all her stress obviously bursting out at his actions, and grabbed her hand from the comfort of his. Now, the wound hurt.

"Because I don't care a knut about your scars? Don't tell me you actually want me to do that." he replied equally hotly. How could she say that? But how could she hope either? It was too good to be true. She had a lonely life ahead of her, she knew that. She had accepted it, to some extent. That was what had brought on the tears afterall. But now he was here telling her he didn't _care_. How could he expect her to believe this was reality and not a cruel dream?

"You don't mean it. I know you say this now, but once you see me in daylight, it's horrible. And if you're seen with me, it could spoil your…" her retorts were cut off as his lips crashed on hers. She had dreamt of this one incident for so long. But he'd always, always declare his undying love for her before kissing her, gently. And she wouldn't be disfigured by the ugly scars. But reality was different, and she found that for once, her imaginations were outdone. Before she could gather herself to respond to him, he pulled back.

"Convinced? Or do I have to make a big PDA for you to believe me? I will do that too, if you want" he was grinning at her and for once, the high and mighty expression on his face dissolved into something softer, something a lot more pleasant. Something a lot like a smile.

"Not a bad idea" she placed her hand in his, loving the way her razed hand complemented his perfect ones. He lifted their joined hands to kiss her palm, a gesture that almost made her cry; he really didn't care.

"Anything for you, princess" she laughed at the clichéd expression, but loved it just as well. A princess, for a prince.

The wizarding world thought of them as the war wreck and the coward, but they did not care. They had their own royal purple cloaks and happily ever afters. They _were_ royalty afterall.

A/n: Review!


	7. An Unusual Meeting

Disclaimer: Not JK…

Chapter 7: An unusual meeting

It was a pointless evening, Blaise decided as he escaped out of the house discreetly. There'd be hell to pay when his wife fond out but Blaise couldn't stand a minute longer of that celebration. He was a Slytherin damn it, let him sulk and plot the downfall of the world in peace. He was sick and tired of the baffled looks he had been getting all through the evening. It followed the same routine; a petrified expression, and look to his right where Parvati would be, a resigned sigh, and regretful acceptance. He wasn't a charity case and he was fed up of being treated like one. There was another kind of reaction, one he hated even more than the first one, if that was at all possible; ignorance. It wasn't them they ignored, but their fake cheerfulness made him think that that would be better. It irked him that they tried acting as if he wasn't a person they had once thought of as an enemy; couldn't there be _one_ person who'd treat him like he wanted to be treated, with polite indifference?

Blaise seated himself on the lawn of the Potter household, relaxing under a large birch tree. The shade protected him from the cool breeze that was blowing. It was almost spring; the snow had melted away, leaving the grass fresh and spring green. Hearing faint footsteps behind him, Blaise turned away from one spring green to another. It took him a minute to understand that he was looking at Potter's youngest and only daughter; Lily Potter the second. The girl was barely three years old and small for her age. Her raven hair swung around her shoulders unhindered, the mild sunlight bringing out the strands of red in them. She had the Potter eyes, though not as deep. Blaise guessed that the hazel of Ginny Potter's eyes had prevented that, leaving the girl with a lighter version.

As Blaise watched, the girl walked to him unsurely, atleast _she _appreciated the fact that he wasn't a guy to be trifled with. As she neared, her speed picked up, and the girl jogged the last few steps to stand behind him. Her face was upside down as it asked.

"Can I sit on you?"

"What?" Blaise couldn't believe his ears. What did this girl think he was? Her soft toy? Before he could retort, she walked around him and threw her leg on his other side, settling herself on his stomach. His legs folded on instinct to give the girl some support and she leaned on his legs which formed an impromptu seat for her. Blaise found the situation somehow funny and comfortable. There was no need for him to impress this girl, neither was she going to judge him except to see if he'd make a good enough chair for her.

The girl stared at him unnervingly from her position, almost as if she was looking down upon him. Her eyebrows scrunched together, deep in thought. Her face cleared after a few minutes and she exclaimed.

"Uncle Zabini!" Wait, when did he become an _Uncle?_ He wouldn't even let his godson call him that!

"Just Zabini would do, child." But she just shook her head resolutely. Great, so the Potter stubbornness had survived another generation.

"Why are you here, Uncle Zabini?" She seemed affronted, as if him escaping the party had personally offended her.

"I was bored." He saw no reason to lie to a little girl. What could she do about it, anyway?

"You mean you escaped?" She seemed oddly delighted by the prospect, as if sneaking away from the party was an exciting adventure she wished to undertake. Just then, Blaise remembered that the children were supposed to be asleep on the fourth floor of the house. How had she escaped?

"Shouldn't you be asleep, little one?" Lily looked around expectantly, as if expecting an army of people to jump out of the bushes, come to capture her and lock her up in Azkaban. She leaned in close to his ear before whispering.

"I snuck out." She seemed so tense that Blaise had to laugh. If there was a Slytherin in the making, Lily Potter was it.

"Like me?" The girl nodded, bobbing her head up and down rapidly.

"Will you be punished too?"

"I guess Parvati would be pretty peeved, yes. But I don't think I'll be grounded, unlike you."

"Peeved?" Blaise jumped, only then realizing that he had used that word. Why couldn't the little brat have picked up some other word? Like pretty? Or grounded? Now he was going to have _both_ Parvati and Ginny Potter at his back.

"Forget I said that word, okay? And never repeat it again to anyone. Okay?" He thought it was a fair deal. The girl got her vocabulary lesson and he got out of trouble.

"And you'll give me something?" Blaise now really regretted ever thinking that she was a Slytherin in training, she was just too sneaky.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Ice cream. Mum said she'd never buy me one since I was behaving like the devil." The girl appeared somber, unaware of the humor of her words.

"Sure, of course. So you swear?" He felt silly, asking a little child for a promise but she nodded solemnly enough.

Her eyes traveled away from his face to the distant house where she could see a figure approaching. Her eyes returned to his, panicky; Blaise knew her absence had been noticed. He lifted her up with him as he stood, holding her on one of his arms.

"Lily! What are you doing outside? I thought you were asleep!" Ginny barely noticed him, turning her full attention and consequently her wrath towards her daughter.

She extended her arms, and Lily jumped into them calmly enough, all her previous tension replaced with a look of resignation that looked far too old on her.

"Sorry if she bothered you, Zabini." She turned to him finally, and before he could so much as nod his head, began walking back to the house.

Lily looked back at him over her mother's shoulder, and he swore he saw her mouth the words 'peeved' and 'ice cream'.

The little blackmailing bugger.

A/n: This was entirely difficult to write, without including romance so do tell me how I fared?

Review, please!


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